Dennis Mattiske - Partner
Tel: +61 2 9020 4238
Email: dmatt@hlbnsw.com.au

Involvement in selection process
I am the partner in charge of the technology side of the practice at HLB Mann Judd. It was my role to prepare a proposal for the firm to upgrade our Practice Management system, with the expectation that this would also mean upgrading the firm’s other professional tax and accounting software.

General

When did your firm implement its APS Advance Practice Management system?
We made a decision in late 2003 and completed the implementation in March 2004.

How many users do you have?
We have 130 users.

Which APS products have you taken out licences to use?
It was very much a structured implementation approach – initially taking on Practice Management, then Tax and Xcede Professional Accounting. Since moving over we have also taken on Practice IQ, Advance Docs and Desktop Super. We implemented Worksite Document Management in the second quarter of 2006 and are now considering CRM.

Who was you previous supplier and how long were you using that supplier’s software for?
We were with Solution 6 previously for many years.

From start to finish, how long did the meeting, testing and decision-making process take that saw you move over to APS?
I would say it took about 6 months. It was very smooth, there were minimal hitches and our staff were very responsive to the change. I think the move was good for everyone in the firm.

Was your decision to move over to APS made on gut-feel, or was it more scientific than that? Please explain how you went about making your decision…. (e.g. team approach: IT manager, IT Partner, Work Group etc…)
The main reason we wanted to change was to overcome the many and continued frustrations the whole firm was experiencing with the current system. We found that Sol 6 was not moving with the times and we wanted a more modern up to date product. We looked at what Solution 6 was offering at the time but decided on the APS suite of software because of its functionality and good reputation of the APS service.

Installation / Implementation

Conversion of practice data from your old system to your new one was of course going to be one of the major issues in your implementation – can you tell me how the APS consultant performed in this regard?
The ease of converting data from Solution 6 to APS was important to us, we had confidence in APS and the change over happened as well as we could have expected.

Our old data was quite well structured, so with our planning and APS’s professional approach there were really no problems to speak of.

One of the best things about APS is the personal touch we have received from day one - they really do try to provide a consistent, personal service.

A new system means that ‘change’ is forced upon team members – how did your team react to the new system and how quickly did they pick up the new system?
The firm was ready for a change. The improved practice management system was readily accepted and the staggered change over to the other software, with well timed training ensured everything went smoothly.

Product

Functionality

How does the Advance suite compare to you previous product in terms of functionality?
We feel that it is more modern and has better functionality. We were getting little support previously so the core driver for the move was to have a single database for client information. We found the APS product was able to provide this.

Because of the need for integration of the client data from the various software packages, I believe it is better to have one supplier for all software.

Future Development

What would you like to see APS add to its product set in its next releases of Advance that will assist your business? There really isn’t anything that comes to mind – from what I have seen I can’t think of anything the system can’t do for us.

The APS software is very flexible and APS is continuing to adapt their products to provide enhanced functionality. I can’t see it not being able to do whatever we want in the future.

In terms of competitors – there is no need for me to consider other offerings whilst I am happy with what I’ve got.

Do you have any final words that sum up how you feel about APS, its team and its software?
APS is seen as our partner in practice improvement and is therefore an integral part of the HLB Mann Judd team.

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